Kaiden Guhle had a minor procedure on his adductor this summer, and the Canadiens will be without him to open the season.
RinkyReport put the detail out this morning, listing a four to five week timeline on the return.
That is new information. The club's own note still lists the issue as undisclosed, with no reason attached to it.
Here is what the blue line loses in the meantime. Thirty nine games last season, 11 points, and a plus-5 rating.
The small sample hides something useful. He scored exactly twice all year, and both of those goals won hockey games.
Then the spring showed the real value. Nineteen playoff dates, every single one of them dressed, with eight assists along the way.
He was one of only three defencemen to dress for every one. Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier were the other two.
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Canadiens blue line takes early hit as Kaiden Guhle injury details emerge
That is the number in the club's own injury note, and it does not match a four to five week read. One of those two timelines is going to be wrong.
Four weeks from today lands in mid October. November 3 is closer to seven. Pick whichever one you want to believe, but do not pretend they are the same.
Without him the left side leans hard on one player. Lane Hutson put up 78 points at plus-36 and will not be taking nights off.
Behind that it thins in a hurry. Jayden Struble managed 12 points across 59 games and Arber Xhekaj finished at minus-8 in 65.
The right side is where the money sits. Noah Dobson is on $9.5 million after a 47 point season.
That contract did not look great in May. Dobson finished the postseason at -7 across 13 games.
None of this is a crisis on a good team. Montreal went 48-24-10 and finished sixth overall.
The run was real too. Seven games to get past Tampa Bay, seven more to handle Buffalo, then Carolina closed the door in five.
So how much can Martin St-Louis lean on a thinner back end through October?
An adductor issue on a defenceman who skates for a living is like a bad wheel bearing. It is minor right up until you have to turn hard.
The schedule does not care which timeline is accurate. It only cares whether number 21 is on the ice when the games start counting.
Can the Canadiens blue line hold up through October without Kaiden Guhle?
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